The difference in Saturday’s game was goaltending. Derek MacIntyre made his first collegiate start for the Bulldogs and it was a rough one. Meanwhile, at the other end, Colgate’s Steve Silverthorn weathered the storm and made several big saves to keep the game far out of reach. When the horn sounded to end the game, it was Colgate on top by a 4-2 score.
Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels was pleased with MacIntyre’s first collegiate game. “Other than the gaffe that was the first goal in the game, he really didn’t have a chance on the other three. I was very happy with his performance and he will get more starts as the season goes on.”
The eventual game winner was scored by Jesse Winchester at 1:47. Uncovered in the slot, his first shot was stopped by MacIntyre. However, Winchester picked up the rebound and backhanded a shot that went top shelf to secure a 3-0 lead.
Just like Friday night, Ferris State found itself in an early hole due to a shorthanded goal. The Colgate defense cleared the puck down the ice, and Ryan Smyth took off after the puck. MacIntyre came out to play the puck to the boards, and Smyth intercepted the clearing attempt and put the puck into the open net at 5:03 to make it 1-0.
The second period featured more of the same from Colgate: timely saves from Silverthorn, and timely goal scoring at the other end. Tyler Burton increased the Raiders’ lead to two on a bang-bang play. Smyth centered the puck to Burton, who one-timed the pass home at 1:13 to make it 2-0.
After seven power-play chances, Ferris State finally got on the board. Carter Thompson picked up a rebound from Nick Scheible and picked the top corner of the net to make it 3-1 at 17:35.
With newfound momentum, Ferris came into the third period with a lot of enthusiasm. But so did Colgate, which burned the Bulldogs with its third shorthanded goal of the weekend. Mike Campaner came in on a two-on-one with Adam Mitchell. Campaner made a tape-to-tape pass to Mitchell, who fired it into the other side of the net before MacIntyre could get over at 1:45 of the third to make it 4-1.
“The main problem we had this weekend is when we broke down, we broke down hard,” Daniels said. “When we made mistakes, there were breakaways, odd-man rushes, and guys alone in the slot. We were really hanging our goalies out to dry and you can’t do that and expect to win games.”
Derek Nesbitt scored on the power play at 11:03 to make it a two-goal game, but that was as close as it got. Silverthorn kept the feisty Bulldog team at bay with many great saves.
Overall, Daniels was pleased with his team’s performance. “We have a very young defensive team and knew it was going to take some time to get them up to speed. However, they are showing signs of improvement. When we get Legue and Rutkowski back in the lineup, I think we will have a pretty competitive team.”
Ferris State plays Ohio State at home next weekend while Colgate plays host to Lake Superior State.
